Arsenal

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɑː(ɹ)sÉ™nÉ™l/

Origin

Italian arzenale, also French arsenal, from Arabic دار الصناعة (dār aṣ-ṣināʕa, "manufacturing shop").

Full definition of arsenal

Noun

1. A military establishment for the storing, development, manufacturing, testing, or repairing of arms, ammunition, and other war materiel; an armoury.
2. A stock of weapons, especially all the weapons that a nation possesses.
3. A store or supply of anything.
• 21 January 2014, Hermione Hoby, Julia Roberts interview for August: Osage County – 'I might actually go to hell for this ...': Julia Roberts reveals why her violent, Oscar-nominated performance in August: Osage County made her feel 'like a terrible person' [print version: 'I might actually go to hell for this ...' (18 January 2014, p. R4)], Foremost in her arsenal is that smile â€“ so enormous and so absurdly disarming that someone should have worked out a way to harness its power into international conflict resolution.
4. Any supply of aid collected to prepare a person or army for hardshipHe arrived with a large arsenal of cleansers and tools, and got right to work.
• 2012, John Branch, Snow Fall : The Avalanche at Tunnel CreekElyse Saugstad, a professional skier, wore a backpack equipped with an air bag, a relatively new and expensive part of the arsenal that backcountry users increasingly carry to ease their minds and increase survival odds in case of an avalanche.